. . . and They Changed their Name
when They came to America . . .
It would seem that those of the Yancey family
who first came to America
probably changed their name soon before or after they came to the New World.
This is one of various reasons that have made it difficult to trace the
surname into the Old World - and, as of yet, no one has made any real link.
What follows, is not any real attempt, to prove any given point - but
simply to share various other examples where persons/families who also came
to America have changed their name. Not all of these may apply to the
Yancey
family - but are simply given here to give a wide range of different
scenarios.
| Name | Notes | Links |
| James Armistead (1760-1830) | African American double agent during Revolutionary War. | Link |
| John Dillard | The Dillard name seems to have evolved over time - with various variations. John Carbonne d'Illard immigrated to the Isle of Man in England from France and was the son of Carbonne d'Illard from Carbonne on the Upper Rhine in France. | Link |
| Philip Maximillian Dyer and son Leon | Jewish family came to America from Germany and changed surname from Heim to Dyer | Link |
| Rowland Ellis | Welsh Quaker Immigrant to America (Pennsylvania) and Nanney family descendant | Link |
| Peter Francisco - Pedro Francisco | (child mysteriously left on the dock of City Point, Virginia in 1765) - thought to have been kidnapped from the Azores and brought to America. Never knew who hsi real parents were. Made quite a name for himself in America in the Revolutionary War. Was an associate of the Yanceys. Probable origin theories have been established. Original name is thought by some to be Pedro Francisco of the Azores. Gives an example of how America was a land of opportunity for this man and others. | Link |
| John Freeland | Said to have been French Huguenots who went from France to Ireland and then to America about 1700. One wonders if the name was changed when they came to America. | Link |
| Gannaway - originally diGenova | Seemingly came to America about the same time as the Yanceys | Link |
| Danish Jensen to Yancey | Isolated rare case of Jensen to Yancey corruption | Link |
| Anthony Johnson (Antonio) | Slave from Angola, who later became indentured servant and later achieved freedom and wealth as a tobacco farmer. | Link |
| John Paul Jones | Scottish Sailor and participant with the Americans in the Revolutionary War. Captain in US Navy. Birth name was John Paul - and added "Jones" | Link |
| Doode Minor / Minor Doodes | Interesting case of a family of Dutch ancestry who changed their surmase in America | Link |
| PettyPoole to Poole | Some of this family intermarried with Yanceys | Link |
| Nicolas Rosenvelt / Roosevelt | Ancestor of the presidential Roosevelts - who came to America about 1680 and changed the spelling of his name. | Link |
| Yeats/Yates Family | Link discusses issues of how different surname spellings may have had religious overtones for this family . . . | Link |
| Rees Nanna | A Quaker of Pennsylvania who probably immigrated from Wales from the Nanney family. Thought to possibly be of illegitimate birth. His family tended to spell the name Nanna instead of Nanney. | Link 1 Link 2 |
| Iganci/Yanci/Yanzi | Originating from the town of Yanci in Spain. | Link Link Link |
| Yentzer to Yencer to Yancer to Yancy | Germanic Family | Link |
Some Other Surname Sites of Possible Interest
| Welsh Surnames | Common Welsh Surname | |
| They Changes our Name At Ellis Island | Myth about how people got their
name changed coming to America. Also gives some great examples of why people changed their names. |
|
| Colonial Virginia | What life was like in Colonial Virginia | Link |
| First Name of Yancey | Yancey used as a first name | |
| Name of Charles | The name of "Charles" among early Yancey - is it a clue?? | Link |
| Ancey Names | Could the Yancey name have been corrupted from one of these names? | Link |
| Naming Practices | ||
| Nanney-Anway Name Changes | Various Nanneys changed name to Anway | Link |
| Surname Statistics Maps | ||
| Yancy vs Yancey | How Yancey corrupted into Yancy | Link |
| Yancey vs Yauncey | Possibility that name was something like Yauncey - or maybe an indication of pronunciation. | Link |
| Yancey Turner | Illegitimate son who was given his Father's last name as his first name. | Link |
| John Lewis and why he came to America | This family that married into the early Yancey family and why they came to America | Link |
| Sir William Berkeley and the Crawford family coming to America | Link | |
| The interesting case of John Chandler - 9 year old immigrant | Link |